


Comfort of Kin

by Dragon_Writes



Series: Uncle Jayfeather Chronicles [15]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: I'm back, I've been busy, Implied Character Death, Lost Stars Spoilers, Uncle Jayfeather, again it's kinda obvious what it's spoiling, because y'know, but I'm going to be away for about a week so I figured I'd get something out while I can, everyone was upset for like a month, it's fairly obvious who lol, okay that's enough tags, sorry for the kinda-hiatus of this series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 14:23:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18551566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_Writes/pseuds/Dragon_Writes
Summary: "I can't believe she's gone..." her brother whispered.Hollytuft glanced towards the medicine den, when a sudden thought came to mind; Jayfeather.Was he okay?





	Comfort of Kin

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still upset about this, but the bonus chapters of Lost Stars kinda made up for the fact Leafpool's death was completely glossed over. If it's not obvious, I adore Jayfeather and almost cried over those damn chapters, and if you haven't read them you really should. Anyways, on with the story!

The pale light of dawn shone down on Hollytuft’s dark pelt as she began to shift from her crouched position. Sorrelstripe and Fernsong were by her side, and both her littermates looked as tired and upset as she felt. She slowly backed away from the small, limp brown tabby as the elders picked her up and began to leave the camp.

“I can’t believe she’s gone,” her brother whispered.

Sorrelstripe said nothing, just walked away to the nursery where Baykit and Myrtlekit lay with Daisy, as the brown she-cat had decided to stay for the vigil. Her blue eyes were dull, and her pelt unkempt from the night of grief.

Hollytuft watched her sister go before turning back to her brother, who’s golden pelt was ruffled and his eyes troubled. She opened her mouth to respond, but only barely suppressed a sob instead as nothing came. Fernsong’s pelt pressed against hers in an attempt to comfort her, and Hollytuft could feel his faint tremors through the thick fur. They stayed like that for StarClan knows how long, until a voice came from behind them.

“You two should get some sleep,” Cinderheart mewed, her voice unusually quiet and subdued from grief.

Looking up to her mother, she noticed that the grey she-cat looked as though she were in another world, too lost in thought to truly comprehend reality.Then her blue eyes softened, and she padded closer to them.

Stifling another sob, Hollytuft buried her muzzle in her mother’s chest, ears flat against her head and shaking uncontrollably. Fernsong joined not a heartbeat later, Cinderheart giving soothing licks between their ears in an attempt to comfort her grieving kits at the loss of their grandmother.

“Where’s dad?” Hollytuft finally choked out, raising her head to look her mother in the face. “Is he okay?”

Cinderheart didn’t answer, just glanced across the clearing with troubled blue eyes. Following her gaze, Hollytuft saw her father crouched silently, hid golden pelt sticking out in clumps and amber eyes flickering with countless emotions as he stared at the wall of the hollow.

“Will you two be okay if I stay with him?” her mother finally said.

“Of course,” Fernsong responded, “Give him hugs from us.”

Their mother nodded her head before racing towards Lionblaze, curling up by his side and attempting to groom his messy fur. Fernsong and Hollytuft watched them for a moment in silence, before the golden tom pressed his pet against hers and padded away towards his mate, head down and tail drooping still.

Sighing, Hollytuft looked to the sky, where the sun was steadily rising. Wisps of cloud floated by, and there were several stars still remaining in the sky, twinkling faintly. 

‘Is one of them you, Leafpool?’ Hollytuft wondered, her heart clenching at the thought of her deceased grandmother. Shaking her fur out, the black she-cat glanced around the clearing. The elders were returning to camp again, huddled close together in silence after burying their dead clanmate, while some of the younger warriors were grouped in clumps at the edges of the clearing, chattering amongst themselves, though not without an air of sorrow as several gave longing glances to the thorn barrier. Alderheart suddenly came skittering out of the medicine den, his eyes hollow and ginger fur sticking out everywhere, before settling beside Bramblestar with a small whimper.

Hollytuft barely restrained herself from going over to comfort the young tom as he wailed into his father’s chest. He had been close with the deceased medicine cat, Hollytuft had heard him speaking highly of her many times, and knew he had considered her a second mother.

‘Losing her must be even worse to him,’ she mused, before her breath caught in her throat as a second thought came to mind; Jayfeather.

With a renewed sense of determination, Hollytuft began to pad towards the medicine den with the intention of seeing her uncle.

“Uncle Jayfeather?” she called into the den. “Can I come in?”

A barely audible grunt answered her, and she pushed her way past the bramble screen and into the gloomy den, leaving black tufts on the thorns. The grey tabby looked smaller than ever, curled up in his nest as tightly as possible, his eyes squeezed shut and paws on his nose. Hollytuft swore she felt her heart break at the sorry state of the tom, and began to make her way over to his nest, making sure to not even glance in the direction of the third nest in the den for fear of breaking down.

Curling up beside her uncle, Hollytuft began to gently try and smooth out his thin ruffled pelt. He tensed at the steady rasp of her tongue, but was seemingly too tired and upset to protest, slumping down again almost instantly. He let out uneven breaths, as though he were trying to calm himself down.

‘He probably is’ she thought, and she had to fight to keep her own breath from hitching. She jumped slightly as Jayfeather shifted closer to her.

“Why do they all die,” he choked. 

Hollytuft paused, unsure as to whether or not she was meant to have even heard the question, before deciding to respond. “I don’t know.”

They lay there in silence together, taking comfort in each other’s presence while trying to stifle sobs and whimpers at the loss of their kin, and desperately ignoring the reality that they could lose Squirrelflight, too. For those moments they stayed in their own minds, and all Hollytuft could truly do was try and comfort her distraught uncle, who had drifted into an uneasy sleep.

Her own exhaustion finally catching up to her, Hollytuft began to settle down beside the small grey tabby, wrapping her tail over her nose before drifting to sleep. Her dreams were filled of memories, a brown tabby who always gave her a comforting look through clear amber eyes, and always offering advice to her through her life. 

The thought that she was gone hurt, and Hollytuft could tell it would likely take a long time before her uncle fully healed at the loss, and maybe he never would, but the least she could do was look after the brother of the brave cat she had been named after, who now walked with her mother in StarClan. The thought brought a small smile to her face, even through the grief that clawed at her heart, that Leafpool was hopefully happy now among the stars, with her daughter and parents, and Squirrelflight’s two lost kits, who she would look after until her sister joined her in StarClan.

But for now, all Hollytuft could do was take each day at a time, and make sure her father and uncle were coping with the loss of their mother.

**Author's Note:**

> So uh, sorry I've been gone for like a week, but I've been really busy, and unfortunately won't have time to write much for the next while, and even if I do there probably won't be any time for me to actually type up things. Updates will probably be sporadic for about a month since I have GCSE exams to do, and I should be revising for them considering the first one is less than a month away, so yeah haha! Thank you if you've read this far, and I hope you have a good day/night :)


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